Ah, donuts. My favorite snack ever. I could seriously eat donuts and only donuts for the rest of my life. I mean you could have it glazed, sugared, cream-filled, jelly-filled… the possibilities are endless!

With that said, here we have some honey cornbread, in the form of a donut. Awesome, right? Now if you’re a cornbread lover like me, you will LOOVE these donuts. They’re slightly sweet and crumbly, and that lemon sugar topping just sends it over the top by giving you a nice burst of lemony-freshness in every bite.

Best of all, these are baked, which means they’re super healthy. Okay, maybe it’s not super healthy but it’s not as bad as the fried versions so knock yourself out and eat a couple of these. Or 10 of these, like I did.

You could also make some mini muffins with the leftover batter, which is just as much fun to eat.

So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go bake these so you have a nice treat waiting for you in the morning on your way out.

One year ago: Cookie Cake

Honey Cornbread Donuts and Mini Muffins (adapted from Prevention RD):

Yields 2 dozen donuts and 12 mini muffins

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the lemon sugar topping:

  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest, about 2 large lemons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a mini donut pan and/or mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, milk, eggs and butter.

Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.

Scoop the batter evenly into the donut pan. (A piping bag is perfect for this.)

Place into oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the donuts are slightly browned and spring back when touched.

You can also make some mini muffins. These go in the oven for about 11-12 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest.

Rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers, releasing the oils from the lemon zest into the sugar, about 1 minute.

Sprinkle the lemon-sugar mixture over the donuts and/or mini muffins.

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